Welcome to Serenity

How long could she possibly spend doing laundry or stocking her refrigerator for the few meals she ate at home? Serenity didn’t have a movie theater and she wasn’t interested in golf, kayaking or any of the other activities available in town. It was the one drawback she’d found to living in a small community after spending several years in Charleston. Despite all its other charms and the wonderful people, the peace and quiet of Serenity got on her nerves from time to time, especially with no one special to share her life.

This Sunday seemed worse than most. She had way too much time to think about Christmas and her family and all the reasons the holiday had lost its meaning for her.

By three o’clock she was going a little stir-crazy. She glanced at the phone next to her and thought about how long it had been since she’d spoken to her parents. They lived less than two hours away, but she hadn’t seen or spoken to them in months. After leaving home, she’d soon learned that if she didn’t initiate a call, it wouldn’t happen. It was almost as if they forgot her very existence unless she reminded them.

Impulsively, she picked up the phone and dialed before she could talk herself out of it. It rang several times before her mother picked up.

“Hi, Mom.”

“Jeanette, is that you?”

She wasn’t surprised that her mother wasn’t sure. “Yes, Mom, it’s me. How are you?”

“Doing well enough,” she said, not volunteering anything additional.

Despite the terse response, Jeanette pressed on. “And Dad? How is he?” Her father was nearing seventy, but seemed older. Working outdoors had weathered his skin and what her parents always referred to as “the tragedy” had aged him before his time.

“Working too hard, as always,” her mother replied. “The farm’s too much for him, but it’s the only life he knows.”

“Did he hire any help this year?” Jeanette asked, determined to keep the conversation flowing and hoping to spark even a smidgen of real communication.

“He had several day workers when vegetables were coming in, but he’s let most of them go now that the only crop left is pumpkins. He loads those up himself and takes them to the market on Saturdays.”

“Is he there? I’d like to say hello,” Jeanette said. At one time her father had doted on her the way Cal doted on Jessica Lynn. All that had changed in the blink of an eye, and while she understood the reason on an intellectual level, the chasm between them didn’t hurt any less.

“He’s outside working on the tractor,” her mother replied, not offering to get him. After a slight hesitation, good manners kicked in and she added, “But I’ll tell him you called.”

Jeanette barely contained a sigh. She couldn’t even recall the last time her father had spoken to her. Her mother always had some excuse for why he couldn’t come to the phone. Some rang true, like this one. Others didn’t. Sometimes she thought he’d simply stopped talking to anyone after her brother had died.

Forcing a cheerful note into her voice, she asked, “Tell me what you’ve been doing, Mom. Are you still baking for the church receptions every week?”

“Took a coconut cake in today,” her mother said. “I’ll do chocolate next week. That’s everybody’s favorite.”

“Mine, too,” Jeanette said. “Maybe I’ll drive down for a visit soon and you can bake one for me.”

There was another unmistakable hesitation before her mother said, “You just let us know when you’re coming, Jeanette.”

This time Jeanette didn’t even try to stop her sigh. Just once she’d hoped for some warmth, some sign that her parents missed her and wanted to see her. Instead, her mother sounded more as if she needed to be warned if her daughter was about to appear on the doorstep. Or maybe Jeanette had simply grown too sensitive to the nuances in her mother’s voice. She’d come to expect rejection and found it in every word.

“I’ll let you know, Mom,” she said, resigned to ending another disappointing call. “Good to talk to you.”

“You, too,” her mother said.

It was only after she’d hung up that she realized her mother hadn’t asked a single question about how she was doing or what was going on in her life. The lack of interest stung, even after all these years. She still recalled a time when she’d run in the backdoor after school, filled with news of her day, and her mother had put cookies and milk on the table and listened to every word. She’d seemed to treasure those afternoon talks as much as Jeanette had. Now they could barely manage a five-minute conversation and most of that one-sided.

“If I sit here one more minute, I’ll start wallowing in self-pity,” she muttered aloud, grabbing her purse and heading for the door.

Two hours later she was sitting in a Charleston multiplex with a giant box of buttered popcorn, a diet soda and a box of Junior Mints. The movie, a heavily promoted action flick, barely held her interest. Even so, it was an improvement on sitting at home all alone on a Sunday afternoon thinking about her dysfunctional relationship with her parents, a relationship she had no idea how to mend.

As she was exiting the theater, she heard a familiar voice and turned to see Maddie’s son Kyle and several of his friends, accompanied by Cal.

“Wasn’t the movie awesome?” Kyle asked her enthusiastically.

Cal interceded before she was forced to reply. “Something tells me Jeanette might have preferred a romantic comedy.”

Kyle looked puzzled. “Then why did she go to see this movie?”

Cal met her gaze. “I don’t know. Why did you go to see this movie?”

She shrugged. “I figured it would be fast-paced and exciting.”

He gave her a knowing look. “Which appealed because it would keep your mind off other things?”

She frowned at him. “You realize, don’t you, your intuitive questions are sometimes almost as annoying as your wife’s.”

Cal laughed. “What can I say? Maddie’s rubbing off on me. By the way, we’re going for pizza at Rosalina’s on the way home. Maddie’s meeting us. Want to come along? It’ll kill a little more time, if that was your goal.”

The idea held some appeal, but the drawbacks outweighed the benfits. “And subject myself to further interrogation? I don’t think so.”

“Hey, are you kidding? With this gang, plus Jessica Lynn and Cole, the adults will be lucky to be heard. Come on, Jeanette. No questions allowed. I’ll make sure of it.”

She grinned. “When Maddie’s on a mission, there’s no stopping her. And lately she seems to be determined to pry into my life.”

“Obviously you’re not aware of the toddler effect. Maddie is too busy chasing after Jessica Lynn to have time for much else. Mealtimes are no longer the serene part of the day you may recall, especially with Kyle’s friends along.” Jeanette noted that Cal seemed perfectly happy with that, content even. He’d taken to being a stepfather and then father to his own two little ones without missing a beat.

Based on his promise and a memory of the amount of chaos Jessica Lynn had created on her last visit to the spa, Jeanette relented, partly because the popcorn had hardly been a substantial meal and partly because the prospect of good company was a vast improvement over staring at the TV and rehashing the unrewarding conversation she’d had with her mother.

“In that case, I’ll meet you there. Pizza sounds good.”

Cal gave her a considering look. “It’s a long drive, lots of time for second thoughts. Do I need to have Kyle and a buddy ride along with you to make sure you show up? Once I’ve told Maddie you’re joining us, I don’t want to have you renege.”

She frowned. “I won’t change my mind. You don’t need to send an escort.”

He nodded, satisfied. “See you there, then.”

Jeanette watched as he strode off with the teenage boys, then went to her car. Outside the parking garage, she lowered the convertible top, popped in a CD and let the music blast. By the time she hit the outskirts of Serenity, she was windblown, but her mood had improved by leaps and bounds.

Good thing, too, because the first person she spotted when she entered Rosalina’s was the sexy stranger who’d been on the porch at The Corner Spa…and he was seated with Maddie.

Tom was holding the doll Jessica Lynn Maddox had shoved into his arms when he looked up and saw his mystery woman standing just inside the door. She was staring across the room directly at him, and for just an instant he had the distinct impression she was about to bolt.

Instead, Maddie Maddox was out of her seat across from his and charging across the room, Jessica Lynn on her heels, screaming, “Jeanette, Jeanette,” as if they were long-lost friends. He was left to warily eye the baby sleeping in his carrier next to him. He had plenty of experience with his sister’s kids, but mostly after they were past the diaper stage. He’d never bought the idea that infants weren’t as fragile as they looked.

By the time Maddie returned to the table, her hand clamped rather firmly around the other woman’s wrist, Tom was on his feet.

“Jeanette, I’d like you to meet Tom McDonald, the new Serenity town manager,” Maddie said, almost shoving Jeanette’s hand toward his. He clasped it instinctively. “Tom, this is Jeanette Brioche, who runs the spa operations at The Corner Spa.”

“Hello again,” he said, holding her soft hand just a little too long. Her smooth skin was a walking advertisement for the spa’s treatments.